The night was dark, dark clouds covered the moon, and cast a heavy shadow over the Emperor Yun's bedroom, the Purple Palace. Zhao Yan, who was still the crown prince at the time, hurried into the inner hall and immediately frowned at the smell of medicine that filled the room. The thick curtains made the light of the palace lights dull and dim, and the person on the dragon couch kept coughing. This bedroom seemed to be like the person on the couch, and it had already aged before entering old age, and no longer had any vitality.

Zhao Yan sighed silently, hiding the sadness in his heart. He lowered his head and walked to the bedside, calling softly, "Father."

The man on the dragon couch slowly opened his eyes. The eyes that once looked down upon everyone only flashed a little and then immediately dimmed. Emperor Zhao Yue of Yun was no more than 35 years old, which should have been the prime of his life. However, since he ascended the throne, he had been trapped in the mediation with the Xia family almost every day, and he personally reviewed memorials every night. Finally, he was exhausted and fell ill. No matter how excellent the imperial physician was, he could not pull this emperor out of the shadow of death.

Zhao Yan felt sad and quickly held Zhao Yue's hand and said, "Father, the emperor specially summoned me to speak to you, but he has something to say."

Zhao Yue sighed heavily, looked at Zhao Yan with a nostalgic gaze, and said, "Yan'er, I think you have already seen that your father's time is running out."

Zhao Yan's vision suddenly became blurry, and he quickly said, "Father, don't talk nonsense. Didn't the imperial doctors say that as long as you take good care of your illness, you will recover soon?"

Zhao Yue smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "I know my own body very well. Forget it, there is no point in talking about these idle words. Yan'er, I deliberately sent your mother away today and summoned you to see me alone. Do you know why?"

Zhao Yan's heart suddenly jumped, and he didn't know why he had the urge to escape. At this time, his father tightened his grip on his hand, which made him feel a little painful. Then, his cloudy eyes shone with a sharp light and said, "After your father leaves, this country will be yours sooner or later, but you are still young, and the Xia family in the court are eyeing you covetously. They will definitely take advantage of your unstable imperial power to steal the country and interfere in government affairs. You must not let them succeed! Can you continue to do what your father cannot do for him?"

Zhao Yan's eyes widened, his head buzzing, and he stammered, "But mother..."

Zhao Yue said with resentment in his eyes: "Yes, your mother will definitely take good care of you. It's best to make you a puppet of the Xia family and obey them in everything. Isn't this what she has been trying to do for many years? If they really succeed, the great Mujiangshan will be in danger." He was so angry that he couldn't help coughing again. His chest under the brocade quilt rose and fell violently, like an old bellows. Zhao Yan hurriedly calmed him down and said in a crying voice: "Father, don't be angry, I will listen to you, but what should I do."

Zhao Yue looked at the child in front of him and suddenly thought of another person. His eyes showed complicated emotions and he panted and said, "When you are still immature, you must not fight with them. There is another person, you must be with him. Only when you brothers are united can you defeat the Xia family."

Zhao Yan was stunned for a moment before he responded, "Father, are you talking about Chongjiang? He is still in the Hexi camp right now."

Zhao Yue was a little distracted by the words he just said, and paused before continuing: "Yes, Chongjiang has hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the Xiao family army, which is enough to compete with the Xia family. I let Chongjiang enter the palace to study with you since he was a child, just to let you two form a brotherly relationship. Now I see that you can really support each other and be close to each other, and I am very pleased. Listen, you must treat him as your own brother in the future, and you must not have any rifts with him. Only with the things in his hands can you truly defeat the Xia family."

Seeing that Zhao Yan was still a little dazed, he held his hand tightly and said with all his strength: "Yan'er, you must remember that this world belongs to our Zhao family, and it can never belong to his Xia family!"

The fear and chill in that look suddenly awakened Zhao Yan from his memories. The cold wind poured in from the half-closed palace gate. He glanced at the memorials on the table, rubbed his brows, and slowly stood up and walked to the corridor outside the palace gate. If he hadn't suddenly remembered the conversation with his father, he would never have thought that there might be something wrong with the bow. At this moment, he looked up at the glazed roof tiles and beast-ridged eaves covered by the night, and said coldly in his heart: "Chongjiang, my good brother, please don't let me down."

And what Xiao Du was facing at the moment was exactly that silver bow. It was a fine curved bow, with a light and strong bow body and a blazing bowstring. He still remembered that day when he heard the award ceremony for the title of Marquis, Emperor Yun personally stepped down from the dragon throne and solemnly handed the bow to him. His eyes behind the crown tassels flashed with excitement and expectation, and he said to him: "A famous general deserves a famous bow. One day, when you hold the arrow and draw the bow, you will be able to use it to eliminate the traitors and make more achievements."

Recalling the events of the past, Xiao Du's hands trembled as he held the bow. Thinking back now, that was the closest he had ever been to his biological father. When Emperor Yun passed away, he was far away in the northwest military camp and didn't even have the chance to see him for the last time.

Yuan Xi saw that he looked strange, so she gently held his hand and asked, "Have you thought of it?"

Xiao Du shook his head and said, "Are you sure he is talking about this bow? I often look at it and never find any mystery in it."

Yuan Xi was determined: "Since he put so much thought into it and lured me to steal this bow, it must be very important to him. We should find it as soon as possible before he takes the next step."

Xiao Du rubbed the bow repeatedly in his hand, but could not figure out what to do. Suddenly, the words of the late emperor flashed through his mind: "One day when you hold the arrow and draw the bow, you will be able to use it to eliminate the treacherous party and make meritorious deeds again." He was moved and murmured: "I have never really used this bow."

Yuan Xi and he looked at each other and immediately understood. Xiao Du then stood with the bow in his hand and pulled the bowstring with all his strength. At this moment, there was a "click" sound, and the bow, which had been tightly fastened, suddenly loosened. Xiao Du hurriedly turned the mechanism and found that there was indeed a secret compartment hidden inside.

Seeing that the secret of the silver bow was about to be revealed, Xiao Du and Yuan Xi were a little excited. They quickly reached into the secret compartment and found a yellowed paper hidden inside. On it was a handwritten inscription by the late emperor: Lingchan Temple, Master Hongyu.

The sound of evening drums startled countless birds from the forest. Lingchan Temple was not very popular. Although the abbot of the temple, Master Hongyu, became famous in a Buddhist discussion more than ten years ago, he has been in seclusion since then and never sees outsiders. Those pilgrims who came here because of their reputation have been turned away many times, so they are too lazy to go again to make trouble. As a result, the temple has become increasingly deserted in recent years.

At this moment, the stone steps outside the Lingchan Temple were covered with moss and fallen leaves. Xiao Du lifted his robe and climbed up the steps, but he was very nervous. It had been eight years since the late emperor left him a message. What did he want to say to himself through Master Hongyu? Now that the late emperor had passed away, did Master Hongyu still remember his promise and was he willing to see him?

With all kinds of doubts, he knocked on the temple door. A young monk opened the door and saw that the man in front of him was noble and knew that he was not an ordinary guest. So he put his hands together and bowed and asked, "This donor, what can I do for you?"

Xiao Du hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'm looking for Master Hongyu."

The little nun looked at him strangely and quickly said, "The abbot never sees outsiders, so please go back."

He was about to close the door when Xiao Du reached out and grabbed the door panel. He said with a firm tone, "I want to see Master Hongyu. Go and tell him that Xiao Du, the Marquis of Xuanyuan, wants to see me. He will definitely see me."

The young nun was frightened by his aura and had to go in with a suspicious look on her face to tell him what was going on. After a while, she ran out respectfully and said, "The abbot said that we invite you to come into the meditation room for a talk."

In the simple Zen room, filled with the faint scent of sandalwood, Master Hongyu was meditating with his eyes closed on a cushion. He opened his eyes when he heard Xiao Du's footsteps. His eyes, which had long been as indifferent as an ancient well, were slightly rippled when he looked at Xiao Du's face, but soon disappeared into a deep pool.

Xiao Du hurriedly bowed to the master respectfully. Master Hongyu sighed and said, "I have waited for you for eight years. You are finally here."

Xiao Du's heart skipped a beat, and he could hardly suppress his excitement. He asked hurriedly, "Master, may I ask why the late emperor asked me to come to you?"

Master Hongyu's gaze gradually turned deep, as if he was lost in distant memories. He said slowly: "Eight years ago, your father did leave a message for me. He told me that if you can come to see me, you should immediately notify him to meet you."

When Xiao Du heard his father address him as such, he was immediately struck by a heavy blow and blurted out, "You...you know everything!"

Master Hongyu glanced at him and sighed, "As expected, you already know everything. Your father has passed away, and his original intention in the bow is no longer important."

Xiao Du stood there with his head down and fists clenched, feeling inexpressible regret. It turned out that when the late emperor gave him the silver bow, he had hoped that he could find the secret compartment inside the bow and then lead him to meet Master Hongyu. He never expected that when he discovered this, the late emperor had already passed away, and he was destined to be separated from him forever.

Master Hongyu shook his head when he saw him like this, and said, "In those years, your father often came to the temple to listen to my Zen teachings. I know he had a lot of problems in his heart, and the biggest one was that he couldn't recognize you. But he was afraid that you would not be willing to recognize him as your father and would not be able to accept your own identity. So he could only hide this secret in the silver bow, hoping that if there was a destiny, you would be able to meet him here. It's a pity that he waited for a long time, but he couldn't wait for you. Everything has its cause and effect. Since there is no destiny, you don't have to force it."

Xiao Du couldn't help but smile bitterly. Perhaps it was destined that he and the late emperor had no father-son relationship. No matter how much he felt sorry and regretful, it was useless. So he concealed his sorrow and bowed, saying, "Thank you for telling me, Master. Since the matter has been resolved, I will not bother you any more."

"Wait a minute," Master Hongyu raised his voice, staring at him with burning eyes, and said, "Although you are late, your visit is not in vain. Five years ago, the late emperor gave me something and told me to personally hand it over to you."

Xiao Du suddenly stopped in his tracks. Five years ago was the year when the late emperor passed away!